Relaxing Weekend  


Returning to work after two weeks of vacation was difficult.  It's hard to believe that after three more months, I will have successfully (knock on wood) completed my first year of teaching overseas.  Looking back on the experiences that I have had, both professionally and personally, I am truly thankful for this opportunity.  It has not always been smooth sailing.  There have been some great highs and few lows.  Throughout the whole process I feel that I have learned a lot about myself.  I didn't intend for this post to be so serious, so I'll change the subject . . .

This weekend has been a relaxing one in Guayaquil.  I can't say that I did a whole lot other than recuperate from a busy two weeks.  Today, I did have the chance to go to an amazing soccer game.  It was time for another Clasico (the game when the two professional Guayaquil teams play each other).  It was the most outstanding, outrageous, and entertaining sporting event that I have ever been to.  The first game I went to was at Barcelona's stadium.  It is a huge modern stadium.  This game was at Emelec's stadium.  It is smaller and with much more character.  The place was packed with rowdy fans.  It was great!  BO, fireworks, yelling, screaming, dropping beers on Barcelona fans, yellow and red cards . . . it is truly an impossible scene to describe.  It was truly electric.  Husker fans are very passionate, but I have never witnessed fans like Emelec and Barcelona.  Emelec won this game 3-0.  I wish I would've taken my camera, but it will have to wait until the next time.

Below are some fotos from the Carnaval break that didn't make last week's post . . . take care!


Proud owners of paja toquilla hats (Cuenca).

Last day of Carnaval (Cuenca).
Cuencanos relaxing in the plaza.
Flowers at Laguna Mojanda (Otavalo).
More flowers at Mojanda.
Laguna Mojanda
Chicken, anyone?
Waterfall in Baños . . . it used to be just be one waterfall and was recently formed into two.
Ready for space travel (Baños).
Volcano Chimborazo in the background.
A view of Altares (Baños).
Volcano Tungurahua and Altares
Guitar shopping in Baños
The family at work.
Ended up with two guitars . . . one for my brother and one for me.


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The End of a Great Vacation  

So . . . it has been a while since I have blogged.  Things have been pretty busy leading up until our two week Carnaval vacation.  My parents came down to visit and experience Ecuador.  We had a great adventure.  We stuck pretty well to the mountains.  We visited some places that I have been and a few that I have not been.  Even in the places that I was familiar with, we did things that I hadn't experienced before. We hit it pretty hard and kept really busy the first week.  We only spent one full day in Guayaquil on the front end of the trip.  We visited the Iguana Park, Malecón, and Las Peñas.  The next day, it was time for one of my favorite cities . . . Cuenca.  It took a bit longer to get there than normal due to rain and fallen rocks.  We got there on the final day of Carnaval celebration.  That meant that some of us got doused with water and all of us got wet from a water balloon or two.  We saw a church ceremony that ended in fireworks (my kind of ceremony!).  The next day, it was off to check out the "Panama" hats that the region is famous for (and the origin of the paja toquilla or "Panama" hat).  We also did a double decker bus tour to check out the sights and a view of Cuenca from the lookout of Turi.  The following day, it was time to check out Cajas National Park.  It was a beautiful day (cloudy, but beautiful).  Cajas is definitely a place that I could see myself doing much more hiking, fishing, and camping.  The camping park makes me a bit nervous, as it gets really cold.  After we explored Cajas for a short time, we went to Chordeleg.  It is a small town east of Cuenca known for its silver.  That evening, it was off to Quito.  After spending a night in Quito and visiting El Panecillo and El Teleférico, we took a bus to Otavalo.  Saturday morning was the markets (starting at around 6 am with the animal market).  It was my second time going, but still an eye opening cultural experience.  On Sunday, we visited one of the Lagunas de Mojanda, a waterfall, Lago San Pablo, and Laguna Cuicocha.  Mojanda was new for me.  It reminded me a lot of Cajas.  It is a place I'd like to go back to to do some hiking.  There is also Fuyi Fuyi (a volcano), that only takes a few hours to summit.  Cuicocha was just as stunning as the first time I had been there.  It was much more overcast, but still stunning.  We ended our trip in Baños . . . it was great!  Paragliding in front of an active volcano, volcano watching, hiking . . . what more could a person ask for?  Puyo was another side trip that we took to see the Paseo de Monos.  It was great to have my parents here to share in some adventures.  I do feel that it is a special place and I think they feel the same way.  I also made a 10 minute video with pictures, videos and explanations.  Take care . . .  cheers!


Trying to keep warm in Cajas National Park, home of over 200 lakes (some smaller than others).
Cajas
Heading up El Teleférico to get a view of Quito.
At the top.
Animal Market of Otavalo.
Walking the trail of Mojanda.
Laguna Cuicocha
One of the smaller eruptions of Tungurahua.  One of my favorite things that we did was to volcano watch at night.  We saw three small eruptions with ash clouds.
The green valley of Baños.

Pailón del Diablo


There are so many more great pictures.  Take a look at the video for samples of the remaining ones (paragliding, hiking, Puyo, Cerro Blanco . . . etc).  Click on the directional arrows to check it out in full screen.


The best way to view the video is to press play and then pause to allow it to load up.  After a few minutes, it should be ready to play.



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